These are the reasons why aggrieved PDP members want Sheriff sacked

The emergence of Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has traumatised and fragmented the crisis-ridden party which is yet to get its bearing after its defeat in the last general election.

Sheriff’s controversial emergence has thrown the party into chaos as several party members have rejected him with some even threatening to resign.

However, following a meeting of the party’s leadership on Tuesday, February 23, it was agreed that Sheriff and all members of the national working committee of the party must vacate their positions to give way to a new leadership within three months.

But why has the ‘Sheriff must go’ campaign gathered much momentum among PDP members? See three reasons below: Ali Modu Sheriff is alleged to be linked with Boko Haram Ali Modu Sheriff is the erstwhile chairman of the board of trustees of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and former governor of Borno state.

He is alleged to have formed an alliance in 2003 with the then leader of Boko Haram, Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, who allegedly gave him the much needed support which helped him defeat incumbent Governor Mala Kachalla, who was making a re-election bid for the ANPP governorshop ticket in Borno state.

When Boko Haram became troublesome and created security problems for Sheriff, he reportedly turned against the sect and allegedly helped in the detention and extra-judicial killing of the sect’s leader, Ustaz Yusuf in police custody in July 2009. In revenge the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad ( Boko Haram) hunted down Sheriff’s closest allies. That was how the alleged unholy pact between Boko Haram and Sheriff was severed. Since then, he has been tagged as one of the founding members of Boko Haram. This is why members of the PDP have insisted that he has ties with Boko Haram terrorists and seen as unfit to lead the party. Sheriff is seen as a serial defector Another reason aggrieved PDP members reject the leadership of Sheriff is that his antecedents portray him as a politician who lacks commitment to any political party. Sheriff has earned a reputation as a politician that cross carpets political parties as easily as a man changes shirts. Highlighting Sheriff’s political instability, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state told journalists in Abuja on February 18, 2016 that Sheriff will end up working for the All Progressives Congress (APC) judging from the antecedents and history of the new PDP chairman. “Looking at the antecedents, the history of the chairman himself, we all know he is a cross carpeter. He is always on the move in changing from one party to the other. Even when he was in All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP, for eight years, he was working for the PDP. “Even APC started with him, and then he went back to PDP and we were happy. I am sure in the long run he would work for us. That is what I believe,” the governor said. The above statement depicts Sheriff as a politician without for ideology, this is one of the reasons why the Sheriff must go campaign has gathered momentum. Sheriff is still under a N300bn Borno allocation probe by the EFCC Some members of the PDP have insisted that Ali Modu Sheriff is not credible enough to lead the party in an era when Nigerians are yearning for change. READ ALSO: PDP alerts of fake online registration portal This was the position of the acting chairman of the PDP BoT, Sen. Walid Jibril, in a Punch report dated February 22, 2016 where he said: “We as the conscience of the party are still of the strong view that Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff is not an option to be the party’s national chairman.” Sheriff’s emergence at a time when top members of the PDP are being arrested, quizzed and arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the ongoing probe of the alleged Arms contract scandal, is like adding insult to injury, because Sheriff himself is still under investigation by the EFCC for alleged corruption Sheriff was arrested by the commission in June last year for alleged embezzlement of public funds during his eight years as governor of Borno State but was granted bail. His administration was said to have received over N300bn from the Federation Account between 2003 and 2011, an amount alleged to have been mismanaged by Sheriff. However, Sheriff has denied the allegations against him, saying would not succumb to the widespread calls by some members of the PDP that he should resign his position. He has also pleaded with aggrieved members of the PDP over his emergence as the national chairman of the party to shield their swords and work with him towards re-positioning the party for a greater height. But will Sheriff survive the PDP crisis, only time will tell.

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These are the reasons why aggrieved PDP members want Sheriff sacked
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